ComplaintsforSuperior Builders Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  02/25/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  26 x 28 addition started 10/2022. The following items need to be completed: install flooring, remove old window from kitchen and finish framing opening around new window, build hatch and stairs to basement, insulate the basement, finish framing pocket doors, fix stain on pocket doors and seal them, attach loose cross braces in basement, replace broken foundation vent, eradicate mold in basement and crawl space, deal with the water in the basement, replace trim around the door (wrong size), need gaskets for the door, gutters installed leak, finish vent for AC unit on porch. Brandon suggested I add a root cellar to the crawl space. During excavation they hit a spring. The excavator asked him if he should continue and he said yes. After the walls were built it filled up with water. A perimeter drain was installed and that filled with clay and gravel. There has been water in that space since 10/2022. The floor was cut open to access the basement in 6/2023. There was water in there still. Brandon assured me a couple of times that he would fix it. For the last 9 months I have been suctioning up 15 plus gallons of water everyday. I pour it into 5 gal. pails and climb up an extension ladder to dump it outside. He tried to dig up the drain to fix it but never finished dealing with it. I have not heard from Brandon for 10 weeks. I paid manufacturer of the gutters $125 to reset the gutters and fix the leaks. I paid $200 to have the perimeter drain blown out and have an outstanding balance of $200 for doing it a second time. I have an estimate of $5,700 to install a sump pump and new drains in the basement. The excavator is coming back in the spring to dig up and check the connections of the perimeter drain Brandon installed and I have no idea what that is going to cost. I have $200 in legal fees as of now.

  Business response

  03/26/2024

     Hello, this is Brandon L***** of Superior Builders Inc responding to ***** ********* complaint. Lets Start off by giving the balance of whats left on the original bid. The original bid was $76,200.00. Ms. ********* made $65,432.83 in payments towards the original bid price leaving $10,767.17 as a balance for completed job as described in original estimate. This job has dragged on due to her lack of being prepared and lack of decision making on materials to be used. She wanted to dictate what I could do daily. I couldn't work if she wasn't there. Its hard to keep a schedule and keep a business profitable under those conditions. She would not let me do certain thing until other things were done first of which she had no knowledge of to begin with. Wanting me to show up for a few hours every day to do things that could be done all at once later. I did that for weeks to try to please her until i financially coudn't afford to do it any more. My job requires production to make money.

      Originally Ms. ********* was to purchase siding. Before I even started the job she had a composite siding all picked out and said my only job was to install it. She was to purchase and have it on site as it was needed. I took her to Olean, N.Y. to help her figure out the parts to the siding such as j-channels and starter etc... We spent 4 hours between travel and time at ****** hardware that day. Once all parts were figured I went back to Olean(30 minute drive one way) and had the siding and parts priced out by ****** ****** and by ***** ******** ****** giving her 2 different prices to choose from. Once she received the pricing she decided that material was too expensive and wanted other options. She did not want thin vinyl so the only other option is real wood. So I told her ****** had the best prices on 1x12 for the siding. She called over and put around $1,275.00 worth of 1x12 con her credit card. I sent my brother with a trailer to go pick up the load(1.5 hours round trip) He hauled it to the jobsite and unloaded half. ***** did not like it so he loaded it back up and I purchased it from her. At that point she was indecisive about where to get wood. Finally she decided ******* hardware was where she would purchase it from. She started harassing me to go get the wood for her. So I went and grabbed 4 loads for her taking time away from other jobs to do something that was her responsibility. I figured I had 17 hours into running around and pricing for her and charged her a measly $10/hour totaling $170.00 while losing  $1,000.00 due to leaving other paying jobs. Now she is complaining about me charging her.
  

      The foundation was the issue that was finally the last straw for me. We ended up putting a full foundation in part of her what was supposed to be crawl space. About 2 feet from the bottom we ran into an unforeseen natural spring running through the ground which also ran under her existing house. So I did the only thing I could do and ran a perimeter drain around the inside of the crawl space and extended it to the outside of the building to be hooked into the drainage. Ms. ********* hired **** ****** to excavate and hook up drainage for footers and downspouts to gutters. It was his responsibility to hook up drainage of which he never tied into my drain which was 3 inches from the rest of the tie-ins which he seen and chose not to hookup. I did not realize he never hooked it up. We opened the basement in the spring to find 4'' of water laying on the basement floor. I wasn't sure of the problem but figured maybe the membrane around the drain pipe clogged up from mud. I spent 4 hours digging inside a crawl space and finally got to the pipe I had installed. There was 4'' of standing water over the pipe.So I figured I had to dig the outside drainage up to get that water out so I could intern see the pipe. ***** suggested we call **** and get his opinion. I asked if he hooked up the drain and he said no, but he thought he put an elbow on it. I rented an excavator for $100/hour to dig outside (approx. 4hrs between digging and backfill.) After getting to the bottom of the area ***** and I both seen that there was no elbow(which would have done nothing except get clogged aswell.) Just the same end of the pipe we had stuck through the wall months earlier. Except now clogged with rocks and mud. ***** brought me out a spoon to push up the pipe and pull out rocks and mud. After working it for a while a trickle of water finally started flowing. We then hooked the drain in as best we could seeing as though we had no space to move and the rest of the pipe was buried leaving us no wiggle room for fitting new pipe fittings( it would have literally took **** ****** 10 minutes or less with an open footer to hook up with the rest of the drains. Common sense.) But me wanting to proceed so I could finish this lagging job up was willing to do what it took so I could proceed. Once the water drained from the basement I could see the pipe and I then cut a junk out. The entire thing was filled with pure mud due to sitting stagnant for months. I tried for hours working it loose but didnt have enough pressure to push it out. So the next plan was to dig at the farthest end of the pipe and put a cleanout there so someone could come push the entire pipe out with a pressure washer. So after spending 15 hours digging in a crawl space on my Butt in the soaking wet and 4 hours on an excavator I rented Ms. ********* proceeded to tell me this was all my fault and I was to pay for the pressure washer. My argument which is common sense and proven, is that this wouldn't have happen if the company she hired to install the drainage had hooked it up to begin with. Once again I put many hours into something that could have been prevented jut to make her happy and keep the job moving along.

      I have been in business since the summer I graduated high school 1996. While not everyone is pleasable I have had issues with a hand full or less people out of hundreds and I have dozens of repeat customers and have built multiple houses for multiple people. The few people I've had problems with act similar or exactly like *****. They are indecisive and never prepared. Never have the materials ready that they are responsible for and want to control the project and when I get paid. ***** didn't want to give me the balance owed or anymore payments until the job was complete. but also wanted to dictate what could get done and that makes it very hard for a business to pay bills and payroll. She wasn't capable of managing a construction job. She had planned this addition for 3 years and every time she needed to make a decision or purchase materials she never knew what she wanted. I was warned b y other contractors not to work for her but decided to anyway. She would go to hardware stores, waste peoples time and then cancel the order if she had an order at all. Thats how it is working for her, she wants things perfect but doesn't know what she wants to begin with so you can never get there unless its a 2 day job. Anything longer will never get finished due to her wanting you to work around her schedule and her indecisive non decisions. She looked for months for the perfect entrance door to the new addition. Never could find one. So I gave her a very nice ******** full glass door just so we finally had one. I would leave hoping when I came back she had things done and decisions made so I could finish the job. Not one time did she do anything productive while I was away. There is literally 1.5 weeks worth of work for 2 guys and it will take 3 months to get done under her supervision if ever at all. I financially cant lose anymore money trying to finish her up. I was very generous to her and whether she realizes it or not she took advantage of my generosity.
  

      There is a small list of things that need finished up and she has plenty of money left from our budget (over $10,000.00) Any water damage or mold in the basement was caused by **** ****** not hooking up drainage and I'll stand by that in the court of law.  I am out thousands of dollars at this point while dealing with Ms. ********* and I refuse to lose anymore

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